Start Beekeeping now

After 6 years of being a beekeeper, I was recently asked again how I got to start beekeeping. I had always answered that it was due to a community project I was asked to consult on. After researching numerous agricultural activities and profitability scenarios it was clear that beekeeping was on the short list of winners.

First steps to beekeepingThe first thing I did was to find someone offering a beginner beekeeping course. Once I did that I got lot of answers but had other questions like where to get the beekeeping equipment I now needed to get the community project on the go.

All of this research and development took about 3 weeks. It was worth it though. I was now able to provide a list of the necessary beekeeping equipment the project would require to start beekeeping plus a list of bee books that I used as a reference to put the final proposal together.

The findings on the prices of beekeeping equipment as well as the kind of return on investment gave the community project board a no-brainer decision when it came down to giving the nod on recommended project list including the beekeeping option.

Beekeeping equipment and land needsTo start beekeeping you should look at a beekeeping starter kit consisting of bee hives (number 1 priority), a bee suit(or jacket with veil), bee gloves, bee smoker, hive tool and queen excluders. This is a shortlist but it is all you would need to consider to get started on beekeeping as a beginner.

The beauty of beekeeping is that you don’t need to own the land the bees are kept on. As long as you ask permission from any landowner, preferably one with large-scale high quality flora, you can place your bee hives on their property!

So, one beginner beekeeping course and a copy of the Practical Beekeeping bee book and I was almost done with research. I had to simply start beekeeping.I got quotes for the beekeeping equipment on behalf of the community and for me. After I saw the profitability of beekeeping I was prepared to put money down too!

The next thing you have to do is catch a swarm of bees. Not that difficult if you know how. Many new bee keepers tend to try and buy a new honey bee swarm to keep. This is one way of fast tracking your apiary but you can catch wild swarms if you know how.

About the Author

Warrick Selzer is a commercial beekeeper with a retail supply to beekeepers & for honey. He also wrote Practical Beekeeping, an ebook to give beginners tips on starting beekeeping! Visit to find out more: http://practicalbeekeeping.com/